Indoor Gardens Bring Light and Air Into This Brick Home in Vietnam

To contend with rapid urbanization, air pollution, and lack of public space in Hanoi, ODDO Architects has designed VH House, a contemporary home for a family of four with an abundance of greenery placed strategically throughout the interior and exterior of the dwelling.

ODDO Architects designed a contemporary home for a family of four on a narrow, 4 meter by 16 meter plot of land in the dense city of Hanoi, Vietnam.

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The narrow plot of land, which measures four meters by 16 meters, originally was used as a garden filled with fruit trees and vegetables. The architects wanted to embrace the property’s original verdant elements by incorporating plantings into the design of the home.

A continuum of spaces gives a more spacious feeling to the interior of the small home. The open, flowing floor plan is divided by exterior and interior courtyards filled with plantings, which help to designate the division of spaces in lieu of walls.

Inside the home, concrete floors, white walls, and plenty of windows keep the living spaces feeling bright and cheery.

Although narrow, the house appears open and airy with skylights and windows welcoming in an abundance of natural light. From the kitchen to the rooftop garden, pockets of greenery are found throughout the home.

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Plantings were strategically placed throughout the living spaces to designate "rooms" without using traditional walls.

Skylights welcome in natural light.

A lush, carpeted lawn stretches across the rooftop, which also houses the family’s vegetable garden and tropical plantings. The second-story oasis offers a place for respite from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.

A staircase leads from the bedroom to the rooftop garden.

On the second story, a rooftop garden spans the top of the house, offering views of Vietnam's capital city.

On the facade of the home’s second story, bricks were arranged in a pattern that creates both transparency and privacy, adding to the flowing, ventilated nature of the home’s design. The design embraces cross ventilation to help reduce the home’s use of air conditioning and overall energy consumption.

Bricks were used on the second story facade to help keep construction costs down.

Bricks were assembled in a pattern to allow ventilation on the second story.